Brian Dement called our meeting to order and Julian Griffin led our prayer and pledge.
Announcements
- Welcome guest Zac Young from the previous Rotary Breakfast Club.
- Our District Governor Lloyd Navarro will be visiting our club on August 1st. Board meeting will be held at 10:45.
Happy $
- Sid Little thanked everyone for their recent cards and phone calls after the death of his mother.
- Frank Longest thanked Jim Cartner and Larry Holt for their singing and music at a recent funeral he attended.
Rob Bencini, Certified Economic Developer & Economic Futurist
Don Jennings is a 34 year Rotarian and has been a member of our club for 18 years. He and his wife life in Gibsonville and have two sons both living and working in Charlotte. Don is from Elizabeth City and graduated from East Carolina University.
Don introduced our speaker, Rob Bencini. Rob is a Certified Economic Developer and Economic Futurist and the author of “Pardon the Disruption. The Future You Never Saw Coming.”
Rob shared a list of current trends impacting our economy:
- The growth of a true global economy
- Higher education a must
- Scientific breakthroughs (stem cell and life extension)
- Demographic changes – growth of hispanic market and two generations of older adults living at the same time.
- Urban migration
- Private sector aversion to full-time employment – hiring more part-time positions
Rob discussed changes to the retail industry. 60,000 retail jobs have been lost with the closing of several retails stores – Rue 21, Gander Mountain, JC Penny, etc. Retail “shopping” is moving online with Amazon serving 45% of online sales. Over one billion items were shipped from Amazon during the 2016 holiday season. 70% of US households have Amazon Prime memberships.
The auto industry is also experiencing economic changes:
- 35,000 people die every year on US roads.
- GM produces more cars in China vs the US.
- Most US cars are made in Mexico.
- Tesla is the most valuable car company in the US.
- The growth in Uber is putting less cars on our roads.
- Self driving cars will have a significant impact on our economy – lower insurance costs, lower deaths due to auto accidents, increase in productivity (other things can be done while car drives).
The type of work we do is also evolving. More companies are hiring for “project” work and 85% of future jobs will require secondary education. Two sectors that will experience growth are Coding and Green Energy.
Click on the following link to view Rob’s PowerPoint presentation:
Alamance Rotary Club Presentation 071817
50/50 Raffle
Betty Andrews did not draw the winning card. The pot continues to grow….
The meeting was adjourned and we all stood to recite the Rotary Four Way Test. Until next week…